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Robot carers for the elderly are now a reality in Japan. But do we want them here?

Faced with a shortage of care workers, Japan has deployed a legion of robots to look after its ageing population. Does a similar future beckon for Britain’s burgeoning numbers of old people? Camilla Cavendish reports

Pepper leads an exercise class in a Japanese nursing homePASCAL MEUNIER/EYEVINE

The Sunday Times, December 16 2018, 12:01am

In Aichi province, central Japan, a loudspeaker blares down the street. The announcement asks if anyone has seen an 85-year-old lady wearing a bright pink shirt. “If you see her, please report to the police station,” the tinny voice barks. Originally put in place to warn of typhoons and earthquakes, Japan’s public warning system is now being commandeered to search for the 15,000 elderly people with dementia who go missing each year.

Is this our future too? Japan now has the world’s highest proportion of old people. But Europe is not as far behind as we like to think. Over a quarter of Japan’s population is now over 65; in the UK it’s 18% and rising. There are 850,000 people in Britain with dementia, with…

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